Astro Boy
Astro Boy is a 2009 Hong Kong–American2 computer-animated superhero film loosely based on the manga series of the same name by the Japanese writer and illustrator Osamu Tezuka. It was produced by Imagi Animation Studios, and directed by David Bowers,5 who co-wrote the screenplay with Timothy Harris. Freddie Highmore provides the voice of Astro Boy in the film6 alongside the voices of Nicolas Cage, Bill Nighy, Eugene Levy, Nathan Lane, Kristen Bell, Matt Lucas, Charlize Theron, and Donald Sutherland. Plot Tobio Tenma (Tobi for short) is a gifted 13-year-old boy who lives in Metro City, a futuristic city-state that floats above the now-polluted surface of earth. Tobi’s father, Dr. Tenma, is a famous roboticist and head of the Ministry of Science, but has a distant relationship with Tobi. Dr. Tenma meets the city's obstructive leader President Stone to demonstrate a new defensive robot called the Peacekeeper, to be powered by Tenma's friend Dr. Elefun's newest creations, the Blue and Red Cores, two energy spheres that emit respective opposing positive and negative energy. Against the scientists' warnings, Stone, desperate to win a re-election, loads the Red Core into the Peacekeeper. This causes it to go berserk and Tobi, who had snuck into the room, is accidentally disintegrated by the Peacekeeper before it can be shut down. A distraught-driven Tenma secretly constructs a robotic replica of Tobi, complete with all of Tobi's memories, but with built-in defenses to protect him. Powered by the Blue Core, the replica is activated and believes himself to be Tobi, but although he has Tobi's mind and a similar personality, it makes him become an unfortunate reminder to Tenma about Tobi's death. The replica discovers his robotic capabilities including the ability to understand non-talking robots and rocket-powered flight, but he flies away upon learning from Tenma about his origins and being rejected by him, much to Elefun's sadness. Stone has his forces pursue the replica, but the battle leads to him falling off the city edge onto the surface when Stone's flagship blasts him with missiles. Tenma escapes arrest by agreeing to deactivate the replica and give up the core. The replica awakens in an enormous junkyard, created from the redundant robots dumped by Metro City. He meets a group of children, illiterate but smart Zane, twins Sludge and Widget, and the oldest Cora who has a grudge against Metro City, that are accompanied by a dog-like waste disposal robot named Trashcan. The replica also meets the members of the Robot Revolutionary Front (RRF), Sparx the brains, Robotsky the muscle, and Mike the Fridge, who wish to free robots from mankind's control, but they are very inept and bound by the Laws of Robotics. However, they give the replica a new name, calling him "Astro". Astro departs with the children and finds people still live on the surface. He is taken in by robot repairman Hamegg, who also runs a robot fighting ring. The next day, Astro comes across an old, offline construction robot, Zog, whom he revives by sharing some of the Blue Core's energy. Hamegg accidentally scans Astro, finding out he is a robot, and paralyzes him with his electrical blaster the next day to use him in the fighting ring. Astro reluctantly defeats Hamegg's fighters until Zog is deployed. He refuses to fight Zog, and finds that Zog refuses to fight him. When Hamegg cruelly assaults them both, Zog, who predates the Laws of Robotics, fights back. However, Astro protects Hamegg. Stone's forces arrive to take Astro back to Metro City, and he willingly goes with them. Reuniting with Tenma and Elefun, Astro agrees to be deactivated, apologizing to his father for not being a satisfying way to replace Tobi. Realizing that even though Astro isn't Tobi, he's still his son, Dr. Tenma reactivates him and lets him escape. Furious, Stone reloads the Red Core into the Peacekeeper to send it after Astro, only for it to absorb him and take on his personality. The Peacekeeper then absorbs weapons and buildings, causing it to become as big as skyscrapers and terrorizes Metro City, prompting Astro to battle it. During the fight, as Astro's surface friends try to help him, Metro City's power station is destroyed, causing it to fall to the ground. Astro uses his superhuman strength to help it land safely. The Peacekeeper tries absorbing Astro to obtain his core, but the connection of their cores causes them both pain before separating them. Dr. Tenma finds Astro and informs him if the two cores unite, they will be destroyed. When the children are captured, Astro selflessly flies into the Red Core, destroying the Peacekeeper. Stone survives but is arrested for his actions. Elefun and the children find Astro's body, mostly intact but lifeless. Zog however, revives Astro by sharing back the Blue Core energy that revived him. As Astro reunites with all his friends and his father, the city is suddenly attacked by a monstrous cycloptic extraterrestrial, and Astro immediately leaps into action. Cast * Freddie Highmore as Astro and Toby Tenma, Astro is a robotic duplicate of Toby, Dr. Tenma's son. * Nicolas Cage as Dr. Tenma, Toby's father, Astro's creator, and head of Metro City's Ministry of Science. * Kristen Bell as Cora,7 a teenage girl who lives on the surface and befriends Astro. * Bill Nighy as Dr. Elefun, Dr. Tenma's friend & associate; and as Robotsky, the muscle of the Robot Revolutionary Front. * Donald Sutherland as President Stone, the ruthless and highly ambitious President of Metro City who is running for re-election. * Samuel L. Jackson as ZOG, a 100-year-old construction robot brought back to life by Astro's blue-core energy. * Nathan Lane as Hamegg, a surface-dweller who repairs machines and then uses them in his fighting tournament. * Matt Lucas as Sparx, the leader of the Robot Revolutionary Front. * David Bowers as Mike the Fridge, a talking refrigerator and third member of the Robot Revolutionary Front. * Charlize Theron as "Our Friends" Narrator, of an educational video seen at the film's beginning. * Eugene Levy as Orrin, Tenma's cowardly robotic household servant. * Moisés Arias as Zane, a surface-dwelling child. * Alan Tudyk as Mr. Squeegee, a cleaning robot. * David Alan Grier as Mr. Squirt, a cleaning robot. * Madeline Carroll as Widget, Sludge's twin. * Sterling Beaumon as Sludge, Widget's twin. * Dee Bradley Baker as Trashcan, a dog-like robot that eats rubbish. * Elle Fanning as Grace, a girl from Hamegg's house who kicks President Stone in the leg. * Ryan Stiles as Mr. Mustachio, Tobio's teacher. * Newell Alexander as General Heckler, President Stone's head of military. * Victor Bonavida as Sam, a teenage boy from Hamegg's house. * Tony Matthews as Cora's father. * Bob Logan as Stinger One, President Stone's pilot minion who leads a group of aircraft with suction tubes and wants to capture Astro. * Ryan Ochoa as Rick, another teenage boy from Hamegg's house. Gallery Trivia Category:2009